firman

American  

[fur-muhn, fer-mahn] / ˈfɜr mən, fərˈmɑn /

noun

plural

firmans

1. an edict or administrative order issued by or in the name of a Middle Eastern sovereign (formerly by an Ottoman Turkish sultan).

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firman British  

/ fɜːˈmɑːn, ˈfɜː- /

noun

1. an edict of an Oriental sovereign

2. any authoritative grant of permission

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Etymology

Origin of firman

1610–20; < Turkish ferman < Persian farmān

Example Sentences

As he had forced from Turkey a firman assigning the throne to his own family, he was succeeded by one of his sons.

From Mentone, Cairo, and Corfu by Woolson, Constance Fenimore

The firman was undoubtedly illegal, as it violated a convention possessing a quasi-international sanction, but the Christians were unable to resist, and the powers abstained from intervention.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various

The sultan gave a firman to the French ambassador, under which all the European residents and travellers visited it.

From Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland, Vol. I (of 2) by Stephens, John Lloyd

In April, 1845, he left Zanzibar, furnished with a firman from Sultan Said to the principal chiefs of the tribes of the interior, though in reality they enjoyed the most complete independence.

From The Progress of Ethnology An Account of Recent Archaeological, Philological and Geographical Researches in Various Parts of the Globe by Bartlett, John Russell

It was Captain Best who secured a regular firman for trade from the Great Mogul.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various